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Abstract Background Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the optimal radiotherapy regimen, particularly in terms of total dose and planned range of irradiation field, remains unclear. This phase III clinical trial aimed to compare the survival benefits between different radiation doses and different target fields. Methods This trial compared two aspects of radiation treatment, total dose and field, using a two‐by‐two factorial design. The high‐dose (HD) group received 59.4 Gy radiation, and the standard‐dose (SD) group received 50.4 Gy. The involved field irradiation (IFI) group and elective nodal irradiation (ENI) group adopted different irradiation ranges. The participants were assigned to one of the four groups (HD+ENI, HD+IFI, SD+ENI and SD+IFI). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints included progression‐free survival (PFS). The synergy indexwas used to measure the interaction effect between dose and field. Results The interaction analysis did not reveal significant synergistic effects between the dose and irradiation field. In comparison to the target field, patients in IFI or ENI showed similar OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.80‐1.23, p = 0.930) and PFS (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.82–1.25). The HD treatment did not show significantly prolonged OS compared with SD (HR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.72–1.11, p = 0.318), but it suggested improved PFS (25.2 months to 18.0 months). Among the four groups, the HD+IFI group presented the best survival, while the SD+IFI group had the worst prognosis. No significant difference in the occurrence of severe adverse events was found in dose or field comparisons. Conclusions IFI demonstrated similar treatment efficacy to ENI in CCRT of ESCC. The HD demonstrated improved PFS, but did not significantly improve OS. The dose escalation based on IFI (HD+IFI) showed better therapeutic efficacy than the current recommendation (SD+ENI) and is worth further validation.

ABSTRACT Objective Disulfidptosis was stimulated in high SLC7A11 expression cells starving to glucose. We attempted to identify disulfidptosis‐related lncRNAs (DRLs), built a prognostic model to predict survival, and analyzed the tumor microenvironment. Methods The TCGA database was utilized to procure the pertinent data. By utilizing both Cox regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, a risk model based on DRLs was formulated for prognostic evaluation. The ability of survival prediction was validated by multiple approaches. The biological functions were screened through GO, KEGG, and GSEA. Various methods were employed to evaluate the tumor immune environment, which included ESTIMATE, tumor mutation burden (TMB) score, CIBERSORT algorithm, and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score. Results Ninety‐one DRLs were recognized, and lncRNA AC092718.4, AL365181.2, AL606489.1, EMSLR, and ENTPD3‐AS1 were involved in the risk model. The GEO database was used to verify the influence of these lncRNAs on survival. The following analyses showed that survival could be predicted excellently by the DRLs risk model. The results of enrichment analyses pointed toward the involvement of the cell cycle and IgA production pathways. In the low‐risk patient group, there was a notable surge in stromal, immune, and ESTIMATE scores, while the TMB scores took a tumble. Conversely, the high‐risk patient group displayed a converse trend. Notably, the group of patients with lower risk scores and higher TMB scores showed the most favorable survival outcomes, underscoring the importance of considering both risk score and TMB in predicting the response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Furthermore, patients classified as high‐risk might display resistance to both chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Cellular biological experiments proved that lncRNA AC092718.4 promoted invasion, migration, and proliferation abilities in vitro. These results provided valuable insights into the role of DRLs in LUAD and presented a possible effective treatment approach for LUAD. Conclusions We developed a disulfidptosis‐related risk model with 5 lncRNAs that enables survival prediciton for LUAD patients and aids cilinical decisions by forecasting the TME, TMB, and drug sensitivity, making it a valuable tool for outcomes prediction.

Abstract High‐frequency oscillatory activity in cognition‐related neural circuits during wakefulness consistently induces the growth of dendritic spines and axonal terminals. Although these structural changes are essential for cognitive functions, it is hypothesized that if these newly expanded structures fail to establish functional connections, they may become superfluous. Sleep is believed to facilitate the reduction of such redundant structures to maintain neural homeostasis. However, the mechanisms underlying this pruning process during sleep remain poorly understood. In this study, that melatonin type 3 receptors (MT3Rs) are selectively expressed in the stellate neurons of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is demonstrated, an area where high melatonin levels are detected during sleep. Activation of MT3Rs during sleep initiates the shrinkage of dendritic spines in stellate neurons by downregulating neural network activity and dephosphorylating synaptic proteins in the MEC. This process is disrupted when MT3R expression is knocked down or when MT3Rs are blocked during sleep. Notably, interference with MT3Rs in the MEC during sleep impairs the acquisition of spatial memory but does not affect object memory acquisition following sleep. These findings reveal novel molecular mechanisms involving melatonin and MT3Rs in the regulation of dendritic spine shrinkage during sleep, which is crucial for the acquisition and consolidation of spatial memory.

Abstract Microsatellite‐stable colorectal cancer (MSS‐CRC) exhibits resistance to programmed cell death protein‐1 (PD‐1) therapy. Improving the infiltration and tumor recognition of cytotoxic T‐lymphocytes (CTLs) is a promising strategy, but it encounters huge challenges from drug delivery and mechanisms aspects. Here, a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) coated with apoptotic body membranes derived from MSS‐CRC cells is engineered for the co‐delivery of ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) and atractylenolide‐I (Att) to MSS‐CRC, named as Ab@Rg1/Att‐ZIF. This system is selectively engulfed by Ly‐6C+ monocytes during blood circulation and utilizes a “hitchhiking” mechanism to migrate toward the core of MSS‐CRC. Ab@Rg1/Att‐ZIF undergoes rapid disassembly in the tumor, released Rg1 promotes the processing and transportation of tumor antigens in dendritic cells (DCs), enhancing their maturation. Meanwhile, Att enhances the activity of the 26S proteasome complex in tumor cells, leading to increased expression of major histocompatibility complex class‐I (MHC‐I). These coordinated actions enhance the infiltration and recognition of CTLs in the center of MSS‐CRC, significantly improving the tumor inhibition of PD‐1 treatment from ≈5% to ≈69%. This innovative design, involving inflammation‐guided precise drug co‐delivery and a rational combination, achieves synergistic engineering of the tumor microenvironment, providing a novel strategy for successful PD‐1 treatment of MSS‐CRC.

Abstract Background Laparoscopic surgery has been endorsed by clinical guidelines for colon cancer, but not for rectal cancer on account of unapproved oncologic equivalence with open surgery. Aims We started this largest‐to‐date meta‐analysis to comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopy in the treatment of rectal cancer compared with open surgery. Materials & Methods Both randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials comparing laparoscopic proctectomy and open surgery between January 1990 and March 2020 were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase Databases (PROSPERO registration number CRD42020211718). The data of intraoperative, pathological, postoperative and survival outcomes were compared between two groups. Results Twenty RCTs and 93 NRCTs including 216,615 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, with 48,888 patients received laparoscopic surgery and 167,727 patients underwent open surgery. Compared with open surgery, laparoscopic surgery group showed faster recovery, less complications and decreased mortality within 30 days. The positive rate of circumferential margin (RR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72 to 0.85, p

Objective This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods We conducted a systematic literature review of studies focusing on adult patients classified as having SLE‐related PAH by searching the electronic databases Embase, Medline, Medline in‐progress, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Ichushi Web, Kmbase, and KoreaMed. Based on the findings, we conducted a Delphi survey to build expert consensus on issues related to screening for PAH in patients with SLE and on the importance and feasibility of measuring the identified factors in clinical practice. Results We included 21 eligible studies for data synthesis. Sixteen factors were associated with an increased risk of SLE‐PAH: pericardial effusion, serositis, longer duration of SLE, arthritis, acute and subacute cutaneous lupus, scleroderma pattern on nailfold capillaroscopy, diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide in the lungs (DLCO) 2.8 m/s, pericardial effusion, DLCO 50 ng/l, and N‐terminal pro–brain natriuretic peptide >300 ng/l). The Delphi panel confirmed the need for a screening tool to identify patients with SLE at high risk of developing PAH and provided consensus on the importance and/or practicality of measuring the identified factors. Conclusion The risk factors we identified could be used in a screening algorithm to identify patients with SLE with a high risk of developing PAH to facilitate early diagnosis, which could improve prognosis and management of these patients.

Abstract Aim To explore the status quo of self‐management among young adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the determinants of self‐management under the guidance of social cognitive theory. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods In total, 227 young adults (18–44 years old) with T2DM at two hospitals in Beijing completed the questionnaires. The Summary of Diabetes Self‐care Activities (SDSCA) was used, along with additional questionnaires about diabetes self‐efficacy, attitude, diabetes distress, diabetes knowledge, coping styles and social support. Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression were used to explore the related factors of self‐management among the young patients. Results The scores for the SDSCA in diet, exercise, blood‐glucose testing, foot care and medication taking were (4.16 ± 1.51), (3.46 ± 2.50), (2.28 ± 2.24), (1.08 ± 1.84) and (6.09 ± 1.88), respectively. Stepwise multiple linear regression showed that fasting blood‐glucose value was significantly associated with self‐management behaviours of diet, exercise, blood‐glucose testing and medication taking. Self‐efficacy was significantly associated with self‐management behaviours of diet, exercise and foot care. Diabetes distress, diabetes‐related social activity, confrontation, education, duration of T2DM, treatment modalities and diabetes knowledge were associated with the one or two dimensions of SDSCA in the young adults with T2DM.

Abstract Background Immunocompromised individuals have an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection and severe outcomes, but we pay less attention to these people. Athymic nude mice are a murine strain with a spontaneous deficiency of the Foxn1 gene, which can result in thymic degeneration or its absence, leading to immunosuppression and a decrease in the number of T cells, and are widely used in preclinical evaluations of disease in immunocompromised populations. Methods We investigated the protection of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac) against the infection of wild‐type SARS‐CoV‐2 (WH‐09) or Omicron variant utilizing a hybrid‐type nude‐hACE2 mouse model. Results Compared with nude‐hACE2/W mice, the viral load in the brain and lung tissue of nude‐hACE2 mice (nude‐hACE2/WV) infected with WH‐09 after vaccination significantly decreased, and the histopathological changes were also reduced. The viral load in the brain and lung tissue of nude‐hACE2 mice (nude‐hACE2/OV) infected with the Omicron variant after vaccination was lower than that in nude‐hACE2/O, but histopathological symptoms did not improve significantly. Conclusion CoronaVac provides some protection against infection of both WH‐09 and the Omicron variant in the nude‐hACE2 mice. Our findings aimed to provide a reference for vaccination against SARS‐CoV‐2 in immunocompromised populations.

Abstract Background Muscle wasting during cancer cachexia is mediated by protein degradation via autophagy and ubiquitin‐linked proteolysis. These processes are sensitive to changes in intracellular pH ([pH]i) and reactive oxygen species, which in skeletal muscle are partly regulated by histidyl dipeptides, such as carnosine. These dipeptides, synthesized by the enzyme carnosine synthase (CARNS), remove lipid peroxidation‐derived aldehydes, and buffer [pH]i. Nevertheless, their role in muscle wasting has not been studied. Methods Histidyl dipeptides in the rectus abdominis (RA) muscle and red blood cells (RBCs) of male and female controls (n = 37), weight stable (WS: n = 35), and weight losing (WL; n = 30) upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGIC) patients, were profiled by LC–MS/MS. Expression of enzymes and amino acid transporters, involved in carnosine homeostasis, was measured by Western blotting and RT‐PCR. Skeletal muscle myotubes were treated with Lewis lung carcinoma conditioned medium (LLC CM), and β‐alanine to study the effects of enhancing carnosine production on muscle wasting. Results Carnosine was the predominant dipeptide present in the RA muscle. In controls, carnosine levels were higher in men (7.87 ± 1.98 nmol/mg tissue) compared with women (4.73 ± 1.26 nmol/mg tissue; P = 0.002). In men, carnosine was significantly reduced in both the WS (5.92 ± 2.04 nmol/mg tissue, P = 0.009) and WL (6.15 ± 1.90 nmol/mg tissue; P = 0.030) UGIC patients, compared with controls. In women, carnosine was decreased in the WL UGIC (3.42 ± 1.33 nmol/mg tissue; P = 0.050), compared with WS UGIC patients (4.58 ± 1.57 nmol/mg tissue), and controls (P = 0.025). Carnosine was significantly reduced in the combined WL UGIC patients (5.12 ± 2.15 nmol/mg tissue) compared with controls (6.21 ± 2.24 nmol/mg tissue; P = 0.045). Carnosine was also significantly reduced in the RBCs of WL UGIC patients (0.32 ± 0.24 pmol/mg protein), compared with controls (0.49 ± 0.31 pmol/mg protein, P = 0.037) and WS UGIC patients (0.51 ± 0.40 pmol/mg protein, P = 0.042). Depletion of carnosine diminished the aldehyde‐removing ability in the muscle of WL UGIC patients. Carnosine levels were positively associated with decreases in skeletal muscle index in the WL UGIC patients. CARNS expression was decreased in the muscle of WL UGIC patients and myotubes treated with LLC‐CM. Treatment with β‐alanine, a carnosine precursor, enhanced endogenous carnosine production and decreased ubiquitin‐linked protein degradation in LLC‐CM treated myotubes. Conclusions Depletion of carnosine could contribute to muscle wasting in cancer patients by lowering the aldehyde quenching abilities. Synthesis of carnosine by CARNS in myotubes is particularly affected by tumour derived factors and could contribute to carnosine depletion in WL UGIC patients. Increasing carnosine in skeletal muscle may be an effective therapeutic intervention to prevent muscle wasting in cancer patients.

Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension‐targeted therapies in portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) are scarce, let alone for patients with chronic liver failure (CLF) and hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). A 48‐year male was admitted to the hospital because of cirrhosis for 18 years, systemic oedema, and chest distress after exercise for 1 week. He was diagnosed with CLF, PoPH, and HPS. After 7 weeks of macitentan treatment, the patient's activity tolerance, pulmonary artery systolic pressure, arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), cTNI, and NT‐proBNP changes indicated gradual recovery, without hepatic safety concerns. This case indicated that administering macitentan in patients diagnosed as PoPH (with CLF and HPS) may be efficient and safe enough in a clinical setting.

Abstract Deformable superstructures are man‐made materials with large deformation properties that surpass those of natural materials. However, traditional deformable superstructures generally use conventional materials as substrates, limiting their applications in multi‐mode reconfigurable robots and space‐expandable morphing structures. In this work, amine‐acrylate‐based liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are used as deformable superstructures substrate to provide high driving stress and strain. By changing the molar ratio of amine to acrylate, the thermal and mechanical properties of the LCEs are modified. The LCE with a ratio of 0.9 exhibited improved polymerization degree, elongation at break, and toughness. Besides an anisotropic finite deformation model based on hyperelastic theory is developed for the LCEs to capture the configuration variation under temperature activation. Built upon these findings, an LCE‐based paper‐cutting structure with negative Poisson's ratio and a 2D lattice superstructure model are combined, processed, and molded by laser cutting. The developed superstructure is pre‐programmed to the configuration required for service conditions, and the deformation processes are analyzed using both experimental and finite element methods. This study is expected to advance the application of deformable superstructures and LCEs in the fields of defense and military, aerospace, and bionic robotics.

Abstract Objective Connexin 43 (Cx43) is a critical gene for maintaining myocardial homeostasis. Interestingly, Cx43 and stress‐induced phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1) were recorded to be lowly expressed in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). However, their impacts on reperfusion arrhythmia (RA) remain to be explored. Our study aimed to find out the related underlying mechanisms. Methods After the establishment of an isolated heart model through Langendorff perfusion, the heart rate, conduction activation time, conduction velocity, and conduction direction of the left ventricle were evaluated, along with the apoptotic rate detection in the collected myocardial tissues. After the construction of a hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)‐induced cellular model, cell apoptosis, intercellular communication, cell viability, and the content of reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, and lactic dehydrogenase were measured. The expression of Cx43 and STIP1 was determined in both rat heart and cell models. The bindings of STIP3 and Cx43 to heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were verified. Results Relative to the corresponding controls, Cx43 and STIP1 were decreased in myocardial tissues of RA rats and H/R‐stimulated H9C2 cells, where Cx43‐binding HSP70 and HSP90 were respectively increased and decreased, and ubiquitination level of Cx43 was enhanced. STIP1 overexpression promoted protein expression of Cx43, intercellular communication, and cell viability, and reduced cell apoptosis and oxidative stress in H/R‐stimulated H9C2 cells. Conclusion STIP1 promoted Cx43 expression to improve intercellular communication and reduce oxidative stress in H/R‐stimulated H9C2 cells.

Abstract Considering the abundance and low price of sodium, sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have shown great potential as an alternative to existing lithium‐based batteries in large‐scale energy storage systems, including electric automobiles and smart grids. Cathode materials, which largely decide the cost and the electrochemical performance of the full SIBs, have been extensively studied. Among the reported cathodes, layered transition‐metal oxides (LTMOs) are regarded as the most extremely promising candidates for the commercial application of the SIBs owing to their high specific capacity, superior redox potential, and suitable scalable preparation. Nevertheless, irreversible structural evolution, sluggish kinetics, and water sensitivity are still the critical bottlenecks for their practical utilization. Nanoengineering may offer an opportunity to address the above issues by increasing reactivity, shortening diffusion pathways, and strengthening structural stability. Herein, a comprehensive summary of the modification strategies for LTMOs is presented, emphasizing optimizing the structure, restraining detrimental phase transition, and promoting diffusion kinetics. This review intends to facilitate an in‐depth understanding of structure–composition–property correlation and offer guidance to the further development of the LTMO cathodes for next‐generation energy storage systems.

Abstract Background Most Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients tend to have metastases at the initial diagnosis. However, limited knowledge has been established regarding which factors, are associated with its metastases. This study aims to identify more biomarkers associated with its organ tropism metastasis and to establish models for prediction of its metastatic organs. Methods We performed targeted next‐generation sequencing (NGS) to detect genes related to lung cancer in 272 patients with primary advanced NSCLC from Northeast China. We adopted Fisher test, multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify metastasis‐related gene mutations and to establish prediction models. Results Mutations of EGFR (p = 0.0003, OR = 2.554) (especially EGFR L858R [p = 0.02, OR = 2.009]), ATM (p = 0.008, OR = 11.032), and JAK2 (p = 0.009, OR = Inf) were positively and of TP53 exon4mut (p = 0.001, OR = 0.173) was negatively correlated with lung metastasis, and those of CSF1R (p = 0.01, OR = Inf), KIT (p = 0.03, OR = 4.746), MYC (p = 0.05, OR = 7.938), and ERBB2 (p = 0.02, OR = 2.666) were positively correlated with pleural dissemination; those of TP53 (p = 0.01, OR = 0.417) was negatively, while of SMAD4 (p = 0.03, OR = 4.957) was positively correlated with brain metastasis of NSCLC. Additionally, smoking history (p = 0.004, OR = 0.004) was negatively correlated with pleural dissemination of NSCLC. Furthermore, models for prediction of lung metastasis (AUC = 0.706), pleural dissemination (AUC = 0.651), and brane metastasis (AUC = 0.629) were established. Conclusion Taken together, this study revealed nine mutant genes and smoking history associated with organ tropism metastases of NSCLC and provided three models for the prediction of metastatic organs. This study enables us to predict the organs to which non‐small cell lung cancer metastasizes before it does develop.

Abstract Background Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) is an appealing target for anticancer therapy, and IDH (IDH1/2) inhibitors have been approved for targeted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and Cholangiocarcinoma. The therapeutic potential of IDH inhibitors for non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is under active clinical investigation. Thus, it would be necessary and meaningful to study the molecular and clinical characteristics of IDH mutation in NSCLC patients, especially in the Chinese population. Methods A total of 17,978 Chinese patients with NSCLC who underwent next ‐generation sequencing (NGS) testing were retrospectively reviewed. Results We identified 161 unique IDH mutations in 361 of 17,978 patients (2.01%). Common active‐site mutations, including IDH1R100, IDH1R132, IDH2R140, and IDH2R172, were detected in 154 patients (0.86%) and were associated with male sex (p = 0.004) and older age (p = 0.02). The IDH mutation spectra observed in NSCLC were quite different from those in glioma or AML. Patients with IDH active‐site mutations exhibited significantly higher coalterations in KRAS (p. G12/13/61, 22.1% vs. 8.2%, p

Abstract The mass inoculation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) vaccines to induce herd immunity is one of the most effective measures we can deploy in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). Pregnant women are prone to a higher risk of COVID‐19, and maternal infection is a risk factor for a range of neurological disorders leading to abnormal behavior in adulthood. However, there are limited clinical data to support whether vaccination or infection post‐immunization in pregnant women can affect the behavioral cognition of fetuses in adulthood. In this study, human angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 pregnant mice (F0 generation) were immunized with CoronaVac and then infected with SARS‐CoV‐2. Subsequently, we analyzed the behavioral cognition of their adult offspring (F1 generation) using the open‐field test and Morris water maze test. The adult F1 generation did not exhibit any impairments in spontaneous locomotor activity or spatial reference memory.

Abstract To solve multitarget tracking (MTT) problems with coloured measurement noise, this study proposes a Poisson multi‐Bernoulli mixture filter with coloured measurement noise (PMBM‐CMN) and a robust PMBM‐CMN filter. By using the measurement differencing method and state augmentation approach, the proposed PMBM‐CMN filter transforms a state estimation problem with coloured measurement noise into a problem with white measurement noise. However, covariances of the true process and measurement noise in the proposed PMBM‐CMN filter are time‐varying and unknown, which may degrade the filtering performance. Therefore, a robust PMBM‐CMN filter is proposed for estimating the augmented state, including the kinematic state, the predicted state covariance, and the white measurement noise covariance. For linear Gaussian systems, the augmented state is modelled as a Gaussian inverse Wishart inverse Wishart (GIWIW) distribution. The variational Bayesian method is also employed to guarantee the conjugacy of the GIWIW density. Simulation results demonstrate the ability of the PMBM‐CMN filter to solve MTT problems with coloured measurement noise and show that the robust PMBM‐CMN filter based on the GIWIW model (GIWIW‐PMBM‐CMN) has the best overall performance in comparison with existing state‐of‐the‐art filters.

Abstract It is difficult to obtain a large number of high‐quality labelled Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image data. In order to solve the classification task of an SAR image with limited data, this paper proposes a dual‐network classification model of pre‐training and fine‐tuning based on contrastive learning and pseudo‐label training strategy. The algorithm firstly obtains the initial weight of the network through unsupervised pre‐training and then takes advantage of the pseudo‐label information to realise the fine tuning of the dual network. It effectively reduces the number of samples required during classification. Compared with the classification network without optimisation strategy, the proposed algorithm achieves higher classification accuracy in the ablation study.

Abstract Cell migration is a pivotal step in metastatic process, which requires cancer cells to navigate a complex spatially‐confined environment, including tracks within blood vessels and in the vasculature of target organs. Here it is shown that during spatially‐confined migration, the expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) is upregulated in tumor cells. Secreted IGFBP1 inhibits AKT1‐mediated phosphorylation of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2) serine (S) 27 and enhances SOD2 activity. Enhanced SOD2 attenuates mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in confined cells, which supports tumor cell survival in blood vessels of lung tissues, thereby accelerating tumor metastasis in mice. The levels of blood IGFBP1 correlate with metastatic recurrence of lung cancer patients. This finding reveals a unique mechanism by which IGFBP1 sustains cell survival during confined migration by enhancing mitochondrial ROS detoxification, thereby promoting tumor metastasis.

Objective To assess the factors associated with outcomes of arthroscopic surgical repair of rotator cuff tears (RCTs). Method This prospective study recruited patients, at least 18 years old, who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for full‐thickness RCTs at the First People's Hospital of Hangzhou Xiaoshan between July 2019 and October 2020. Patient demographics, lifestyle habits, and medical histories were collected preoperatively; RCT sizes and affected tendons were determined intraoperatively. Outcomes were assessed by shoulder range of motion (ROM) determinations 1.5 and 3 months postoperatively. The factors associated with ROM were determined using a binary logistic regression analysis, and the results were expressed as adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 132 patients with RCTs underwent arthroscopic surgery. Five were lost to follow‐up, leaving 127 patients (mean age, 59 years; 58.3% women) who were included in the study analysis. The majority of the patients (54.5%) had RCTs that were classified as large or massive, and approximately 20% had tears involving multiple tendons; 80.3% of the patients had tears involving only a single tendon. Moreover, 29.9% of the patients had hypertension and 11.0% had diabetes. Among the patients, 23.0% were smokers and 34.6% drank alcohol. According to the multivariate analysis, none of the assessed factors were associated with shoulder ROM at the 1.5‐month follow‐up. At the 3‐month follow‐up, RCTs involving a single tendon demonstrated 3‐fold better abduction (RR = 4.00; 95% CI, 1.30–12.33; P = 0.016) and 3.15‐fold better internal rotation (RR = 3.15; 95% CI, 1.19–8.36; P = 0.021) than did RCTs involving multiple tendons. Patients who did not drink alcohol demonstrated 6.08‐fold better anteflexion (RR = 7.08; 95% CI, 2.11–23.73; P = 0.002) and nearly 4‐fold better abduction (RR = 4.97; 95% CI, 1.62–15.23; P = 0.005) than patients who drank alcohol. Conclusion To improve outcomes, the results indicate that more targeted measures should be directed toward patients with multiple‐tendon RCTs and that preoperative alcohol abstinence education is needed for patients with RCTs.

Abstract Culturomics employs various cultivating conditions to obtain different types of bacteria and new species. However, current culturomics lacks a highly efficient method for isolating specific pathobionts. Immunomagnetic bead technology, which uses magnetic beads conjugated with antibodies for capturing the antigen to realize enrichment of the targets, has been employed as an alternative method. In this study, we developed a novel method, immunomagnetic bead‐enriched culturomics (IMBEC), in which magnetic bead‐conjugated antibodies purified from the fecal samples of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) were used to enrich and isolate potential pathobionts. A protocol for enriching potential pathobionts via immunomagnetic capture was developed by optimizing the concentrations of coupling reagents, NaCl, and detergent. The efficacy of pathobiont enrichment was compared between antibody‐coated magnetic beads (antibody group) and nonconjugated blank magnetic beads (blank group). To determine the proinflammatory potential of isolates from both groups, we investigated their ability to induce cytokine production in THP‐1 macrophages. This protocol was employed for isolating bacteria from 10 fecal samples of patients with CRC, which were simultaneously compared with those isolated from the blank group. A total of 209 bacterial species were isolated from both groups, including 173 from the antibody group, 160 from the blank group, and 124 from both groups. Bacteria isolated from the antibody group produced more proinflammatory cytokines than those isolated from the blank group. IMBEC is a promising method for relatively specific isolation of potential pathobionts for a particular disease of interest.

Abstract The Chinese Communist Party is consolidating one party rule under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Beijing seeks to rule by central mandate while limiting local autonomy. The central government response to the COVID‐19 public health emergency reinforces this view. In January 2020 Beijing established the Central Epidemic Response Leading Group to mobilise a comprehensive nationwide policy effort to contain the virus. The exceptional nature of the COVID‐19 national emergency allows the central government to project power over local authorities and leverage over citizens, but we argue that this is a short‐term phenomenon because local disease control initiatives remain important, with local authorities adapting national policies to meet constituent needs. There are degrees of policy discretion and divergence at the subnational level that enable context‐specific responses to the virus within China’s strict bureaucratic hierarchy. Primary data derives from interviews and observations in Nancun village, Hebei Province, conducted from January to April 2020. Evidence from Nancun explains how local authorities interpret the edicts and mandates of the central government.

Abstract A solid‐state electrolyte (SSE), which is a solid ionic conductor and electron‐insulating material, is known to play a crucial role in adapting a lithium metal anode to a high‐capacity cathode in a solid‐state battery. Among the various SSEs, the single Li‐ion conductor has advantages in terms of enhancing the ion conductivity, eliminating interfacial side reactions, and broadening the electrochemical window. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are optimal platforms for achieving single Li‐ion conduction behavior because of well‐ordered one‐dimensional channels and precise chemical modification features. Herein, we study in depth three types of Li‐carboxylate COFs (denoted LiOOC‐COFn, n = 1, 2, and 3) as single Li‐ion conducting SSEs. Benefiting from well‐ordered directional ion channels, the single Li‐ion conductor LiOOC‐COF3 shows an exceptional ion conductivity of 1.36 × 10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature and a high transference number of 0.91. Moreover, it shows excellent electrochemical performance with long‐term cycling, high‐capacity output, and no dendrites in the quasi‐solid‐state organic battery, with the organic small molecule cyclohexanehexone (C6O6) as the cathode and the Li metal as the anode, and enables effectively avoiding dissolution of the organic electrode by the liquid electrolyte.

Abstract FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH‐RT) has gained attention as an ultra‐high dose rate RT in recent years. This treatment significantly shortens the time of RT and reduces the influence of tumor movement caused by breathing or other factors. In addition, it spares the surrounding normal tissues and organs while ensuring the anti‐tumor effect. With the efforts of scientific researchers and clinical staff, the FLASH effect has been successfully induced in electron, photon, and proton irradiation. Preliminary research has been carried out to explore its related mechanism. However, this has not yet been fully determined, although oxygen depletion was the proposed primary mechanism discovered. Due to the development of immunotherapy, studies on the involvement of the immune system in the FLASH effect have begun to attract attention. This study reviewed published experimental results to analyze and summarize the feasibility of FLASH‐RT widely used in clinical practice, and whether it could be combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors to guide therapy.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a kind of heart and lung vascular disease with low incidence and poor prognosis. Genetic variants are the important factors of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The mutations of activin receptor‐like kinase‐1 (ACVRL1) could cause pulmonary arteriole obstruction and occlusion in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients. The ACVRL1 gene mutation and clinical characteristics of Chinese idiopathic or hereditary pulmonary hypertension (IPAH/HPAH) patients are still unclear. This study aimed to retrospectively study the mutation characteristics of ACVRL1 gene in Chinese IPAH/HPAH patients and its effect on clinical prognosis. We analyzed the clinical, functional, hemodynamic and mutation characteristics of 12 IPAH/HPAH patients with ACVRL1 mutations and compared with 94 IPAH/HPAH patients (27 patients carried bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) mutations and 67 without mutations). All ACVRL1 mutations of 12 patients were single nucleotide missense mutations. The ratio of male to female in 12 patients was 1:1. The diagnosis age of ACVRL1 mutation patients was younger than that of BMPR2 mutation patients (13.6 ± 11.3 years vs. 16.0 ± 12.9 years) but higher than that of patients without mutations (13.6 ± 11.3 years vs. 8.8 ± 8.5 years, p = 0.006). IPAH/HPAH patients with ACVRL1 mutation have rapid disease progresses, high overall mortality rate (approximately 50%) and no response to the acute pulmonary vasodilation test. In conclusion, this is the first study to analyze the ACVRL1 gene mutation and clinical characteristics of Chinese IPAH/HPAH patients. It is beneficial to screen ACVRL1 gene mutation for IPAH/HPAH patients to facilitate genetic counseling and early prevention and treatment.

Abstract Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show considerable attention and potential value in energy storage and conversion. However, design and preparation novel dual‐active‐center modified COFs for high‐performance Li storage and accelerating Li diffusion are still challengeable. In this work, we synthesize dual‐active‐group of CN and CO decorated COF (denoted as Tp‐Ta‐COF) as the anode material for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Benefiting from the dual‐active‐site, the Li+ diffusion kinetics on the Tp‐Ta‐COF are improved and Tp‐Ta‐COF electrode delivers high reversible capacity of 413 mAh g−1 under current density with 200 mA g−1. Moreover, 18 Li+ can be embed in Tp‐Ta‐COF with CN and CO containers. The mechanism between Li+ and active‐site is deeply deduced and studied by multiple in situ techniques and density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculation, suggesting interactions of Li+ and active‐group are highly reversible procedures. Consequently, we expect this work could create a universal strategy for construction high‐performance Li storage COF‐based materials.

Abstract To assess the long‐term prognostic value of cardiac catheterization and acute vasodilator testing (AVT) with inhaled iloprost in children with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). Data on 81 consecutive children with IPAH referred to our center who underwent cardiac catheterization and AVT between June 2008 and August 2019 were collected. The correlation between the invasive hemodynamic data and transplant‐free survival was analyzed. Twenty‐four patients died and 1 underwent lung transplantation during a median follow‐up of 3.8 years, with a 5‐year transplant‐free survival rate of 64.9%. Univariate analysis showed that predictors associated with improved survival included a lower pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI), PVRI/systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP)/mean systemic arterial pressure, mean right atrial pressure, and a higher cardiac index (CI), mixed systemic venous oxygen saturations (SvO2), and acute vasodilator response (AVR) according to the Barst criteria (decrease in mPAP and PVRI/SVRI ratio of >20% without a decrease in CI). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, Barst AVR and SvO2 were independently related to transplant‐free survival. Multiple hemodynamic variables from cardiac catheterization and AVT with inhaled iloprost have important prognostic value for long‐term survival in children with IPAH, of which pulmonary vasoreactivity defined by the Barst criteria and SvO2 are independent prognostic factors.

Abstract In the scene of ground moving target detection, the target echo information is often corrupted by strong clutter. In this letter, a joint clutter suppression algorithm is proposed based on robust principal component analysis and total variation denoising for pulse Doppler radar. The novel method named total variation‐ robust principal component analysis replaces the l1‐norm in robust principal component analysis algorithm with a total variation seminorm. Total variation robust principal component analysis retains the clutter suppression ability of robust principal component analysis, and effectively separates the target from the noise in range‐Doppler domain.

Abstract This letter considers the coherent integration and detection for hypersonic target in the first‐order approximate (FOA) echo model. The proposed algorithm first accomplishes the modified pulse compression utilising the designed reference signal, then conducts the Keystone transform (KT) based coherent integration method to detect the target. Compared with the existing methods which model the received signal without considering the target's intrapulse motion, the proposed method has a lower modeling error and can maintain good noise robustness for weak hypersonic target detection. Experimental results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Abstract To explore a better treatment strategy for patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer harboring sensitive epidermal growth factor receptor mutations, a total of 271 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: the combination group (58 cases), which received concurrent icotinib, pemetrexed, and platinum treatment, and the sequential group (213 cases), which received the sequential pemetrexed and platinum therapy, followed by icotinib treatment. The primary end points were progression‐free survival (PFS) and PFS on the subsequent line of therapy (PFS2). PFS in the combination group was significantly higher compared with that in the sequential group (16.89 months vs. 9.90 months; p

Abstract Objective Emerging articles have profiled the relations between microRNAs and viral myocarditis. This research was unearthed to explore the capacity of miR‐425‐3p on cardiomyocyte apoptosis in mice with viral myocarditis and its mechanism. Methods A total of 120 mice were classified into 4 groups in a random fashion (n = 30). The mice were intraperitoneally injected with coxsackievirus type B3 (CVB3) to induce myocarditis. On the 7th day after CVB3 infection, 10 mice in each group were euthanized to assess the heart function indices of mice, observe the pathological conditions, detect myocardial tissue apoptosis, and measure the inflammatory factor levels in myocardial tissues. Expression of miR‐425‐3p, transforming growth factor (TGF‐β1), and apoptosis‐associated proteins in myocardial tissues was determined. The remaining 20 mice in each group were used for survival observation. The luciferase activity assay was implemented to validate the relationship between miR‐425‐3p and TGF‐β1. miR‐425‐3p mimic was transfected into mouse cardiomyocytes HL‐1 and then infected with CVB3 to further verify the regulatory effect of miR‐425‐3p on the cardiomyocyte apoptosis in viral myocarditis. Results miR‐425‐3p was lowly expressed in myocardial tissues of mice with viral myocarditis. Overexpressed miR‐425‐3p improved the cardiac function, alleviated pathological conditions, reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, decreased Bax and cleaved Caspase‐3 expression, elevated Bcl‐2 expression, decreased levels of inflammatory factors and improved survival rate of mice with viral myocarditis. Luciferase activity assay verified that miR‐425‐3p could bind to TGF‐β1, and overexpressed miR‐425‐3p suppressed TGF‐β1, p‐smad2/smad2 and p‐smad3/smad3 expression. In vitro experiments further verified that overexpression of miR‐425‐3p inhibited the apoptosis of CVB3‐HL‐1 cells, and the addition of TGF‐β1 would reverse this effect. Conclusion Our research indicates that miR‐425‐3p is poorly expressed in myocardial tissues of mice with viral myocarditis. Overexpressed miR‐425‐3p inhibits cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial inflammation in mice with viral myocarditis as well as improves their survival rates through suppressing the TGF‐β1/smad axis.